Cleveland Guardians – May 17, 2022
Like many of you, I didn’t attend any live baseball games in 2020. And while a lot of you got back to regular baseball travels early in 2021, I didn’t. I fortunately managed to attend three Toronto Blue Jays games on the final week of the regular season, but otherwise didn’t do any traveling.
I was hopeful throughout this past off-season that 2022 would be the year I returned to traveling, and as the pandemic situation around North America seemed to improve somewhat and border restrictions loosened, I realized sometime in April that I’d be able to travel again.
While it was tempting to plan a lengthy, multi-city/state trip to kick things off in grand fashion, I had a different idea.
My first trip wasn’t one of my usual baseball road trips. No hours and hours of meticulous planning, no excited pre-trip announcements and no lengthy travel itinerary.
Instead, my primary object was to take a quick trip to Cleveland’s Progressive Field to document some of the changes around the ballpark since the team rebranded as the Guardians so that I could revamp the guide on my website accordingly.
Quick, easy and a perfect way to get back to traveling.
I arrived in Cleveland shortly after lunch, checked into my hotel on the outskirts of the city and had about 20 minutes to relax before it was time to make the short drive downtown. I was positively giddy as I approached Progressive Field and saw its illuminated toothbrush-style light posts come into view — a sight that I eagerly anticipate every time I visit Cleveland. Just a moment later, I got off the highway, made the short drive down East 9th Street and parked in the parking garage between Prospect Avenue East and Bolivar Road, which is the garage that I’ve used every time I’ve visited Cleveland. By the time I climbed out of my car on the third level of the garage, I was so excited that I half-walked, half-jogged through the structure until I made it to street level and started down the sidewalk with this as my view:
This would be the eighth game I’d attend at Progressive Field since 2010 — but more importantly, the first U.S. ballpark I’d visit since July of 2019.
* Insert ridiculous grinning emoji. *
A few more hurried steps down East 9th Street, and I was standing in the plaza outside of Progressive Field’s Right Field District Gate, the best place for fans to enter the park:
The Right Field District Gate is filled with interesting sights that tell not only some of the history of the Cleveland franchise, but also of the ballpark itself. You’ll see enormous statues of Lou Boudreau, Larry Doby and Bob Feller …
… displays that recognize many of the team’s all-time greats …
… and even some plaques that detail the biggest moments at Progressive Field:
And on this day, you might’ve seen me — grinning like a goof at the thought of being back in the U.S. for baseball for the first time in more than 1,000 days:
Woo hoo!
I didn’t stand around taking selfies for long. Instead, I snapped a panorama of this beautiful scene …
… and then began my customary walk around the park.
I began by walking counter-clockwise around Progressive Field, following Larry Doby Way, which runs between left-center field and the Gateway East parking garage. This spot used to be known as Rally Alley. Perhaps it still carries that name, but the signage that used to hang here is now gone. The area looks like this, and while it’s packed with fans closer to first pitch, it was largely deserted because I was so early:
I’ve often said that the video board at Progressive Field is one of my very favorites in all of baseball. Whenever I visit the park, I’m excited to get inside and check out this enormous structure that reaches skyward over the bleachers. For now, though, I had to be satisfied with seeing it from behind:
As I moved along Larry Doby Way, things opened up and I could see Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, home of the NBA’s Cavaliers, on my right …
… and the Left Field District Gate on my left:
Next, I turned left and walked to the corner of Ontario Street and Carnegie Avenue, where I wanted to see the stadium marquee with the new Guardians branding. Other than the new Guardians wording atop the video board, the marquee sign is the biggest physical change that has resulted from the franchise’s rebranding. Here’s a look at it:
(And here’s how it used to look, if you’re interested.)
Normally, I’d continue my walk around the park’s perimeter until I got back to Gate C, but I had a different idea in mind for this visit. As you probably know, the Guardians took their name in honor of the Guardians of Traffic, which are a series of statues that appear on the Hope Memorial Bridge. What you might not realize is that this bridge is just a few steps away from Ontario and Carnegie, so I wanted to check the statues out in person and, of course, snap a bunch of photos. Of all the shots I took, this one is my favorite:
Before I crossed the street toward the ballpark, I waited for a break in the traffic so that I could shoot this relatively car-free shot:
Then, it was time to follow this sidewalk toward the Right Field District Gate, where I had to wait around impatiently semi-patiently for the gates to open.
Eventually, the gates opened and I lined up close to the front of the line. A moment later, I was through the gates and into the park — a moment that I obviously had to document with this view of the scene:
OK, so that’s not the most exciting photo that you’ll see today, but it’s a significant one to me because I was finally inside the park, rather than outside.
The visiting Cincinnati Reds were taking batting practice, and while it would’ve been cool to snag a baseball during my first game of the season, this wasn’t really a priority. I stood and watched BP for a few minutes …
… but was soon too excited to begin walking around the park and checking out all the sights. First, though, another selfie:
Since I was in the right-center field seats, it made sense to go check out Heritage Park. It’s just a short distance away in straightaway center. Heritage Park is definitely a must-see stop whenever you visit Progressive Field. It’s the type of place that a first-time visitor can spend a long time browsing, so I recommend heading there soon after you enter to ensure that you have enough time to see everything. The upper level of Heritage Park is circular, with a statue of former Cleveland manager Frank Robinson in the center and plaques around the perimeter:
Head down the steps, and you’ll see a displays that recognize the team’s top 100 all-time players, the city’s Negro Leagues history and Ray Chapman, who was killed by a pitch in 1920. Progressive Field’s bullpens are stacked to the left field side of Heritage Park, so that’s where I went next:
Then, I returned to the Heritage Plaza area to snap this photo of the Jim Thome statue:
All of Progressive Field’s statues are nice, but the Thome one is the most special for me. Not only do I fondly remember watching Thome play, but the team’s plans for this statue were unveiled during a game way back in September of 2011, which I attended with my brother.
The occasional wafting of stadium food through the air was a wakeup call to my appetite, so I decided to start assessing my food options. The Right Field District has a wealth of eateries, especially if you’re looking for something other than standard ballpark fare. I took a slow walk through this area to check out the individual concession stands with the goal of having something unique catch my eye. Concessions such as Hometown Sausages, Barrio, Melt and Rally Burger all caught my attention, but I thought I’d continue along the concourse to see what other choices might await me. As I assessed my choices, I opted to work up a bit more of an appetite by walking all the way around the concourse and checking out a few more sights.
Here’s a look down the third base line …
… the home run porch …
… and a shot from the left field bleachers that shows the bullpen area and the three seating decks above right field:
Next, I went down to the field level seats, where I took some shots like this one as the field was being prepared:
From there, I returned to the concourse to resume my quest for dinner — and it wasn’t long before I found what I was looking for: Something unusual to kick off my 2022 season.
Ballpark meal #1 of the year came courtesy of the Happy Dog concession stand, which is known for its hot dogs with unique toppings. I went with the Slider Dog, which sounds straightforward but ranks pretty high on the list of over-the-top ballpark fare that I’ve eaten over the years. The Slider Dog is a beef hot dog topped with pimento cheese, crumbled bacon and Froot Loops. Yes, you read that right. Here’s how it looked:
Its size made it somewhat challenging to eat, but this was a really good hot dog. I love mac and cheese as a hot dog topping, and the tiny bit of spiciness from the pimento was a nice addition. The bacon offered another texture, and the sweetness and crunch from the cereal was better than I thought it’d be. I’ve occasionally ordered ballpark fare that I’ve been unable to finish for one reason or another, but I’m proud (embarrassed?) to say that the cardboard tray that held this meal was empty a few minutes after I sat down.
(By the way, if you noticed that I took the above photo from the upper deck, that’s in keeping with my usual tradition of taking ridiculous ballpark food to a low-populated area so that no one sees my animalistic eating habits.)
I’m glad that I tried this unique hot dog, and I’d encourage you to try it, too. It’s not the type of meal that you’d eat during every ballpark visit, but if you’re looking for something zany to share on social media, this is about as good as it gets. Plus, there’s a good chance that you won’t need a midnight snack after consuming this meal.
Once I’d eaten, I snapped this shot that shows an elevated view of the several of the spots I’d visited earlier:
Beyond the flags are the Right Field District Gate and Heritage Plaza. Heritage Park is behind the trees that are to the left field side of the bullpens. The Right Field District concession stands are just out of sight beneath the overhang from the second deck seats on the right of the photo.
After taking that photo, I devoted some time to exploring the upper deck a little. Here’s a look at the pedestrian bridge that connects Progressive Field with the Gateway East parking garage that I mentioned earlier. Larry Doby Way runs beneath this bridge, and the basketball arena is just out of sight to the left.
I then made my way along the upper deck concourse until I was high above the first base line, which allowed me to have a good view of the iconic scoreboard with its new and enormous Guardians signage up top:
Finally, here’s an image that shows a different view of the attractions behind the outfield fence that I mentioned a moment ago:
With a little time to spare before first pitch, I started to make my way back to the main concourse, stopping to check out an elevated view of the Hope Memorial Bridge. If you look carefully, you’ll see the Guardians of Traffic statues:
Next, I made my way to the team shop where I browsed the new Guardians items. As always, I spent most of my time at the MLB Authentics section, where I checked out game-used items such as these old Indians scorecards:
They were priced at $75, which I found semi-amusing because I spent the same amount on a game-used scorecard at Comerica Park more than a decade ago. It would seem that I overpaid a little.
As first pitch approached, I went back to the upper deck, partly wanting to enjoy an elevated view of the game’s start and partly keen on burning off a few calories from dinner. Here’s where I settled in to watch the first two innings:
Between the second and third innings, I went back down to the main concourse and watched some action from the standing-room area in the left field corner:
An inning later, I relocated to a spot on the cross-aisle behind home plate. The ushers at some parks don’t let people linger in this area, but I’ve mostly found the staff in Cleveland to be cool. I positioned myself in a spot where I wasn’t blocking anyone’s view, and then enjoyed some action from this perfect vantage point:
Later in the game, I returned to Heritage Park to check out some of the displays I hadn’t previously seen. It wasn’t exactly crowded when I visited earlier, but it was completely empty now. That meant that I could spend a bit of time with Frank while I checked out a bunch of the plaques:
After a brief stop behind the bullpens on the way out of Heritage Park …
… I made my way up to the second deck in right-center field. There were almost no fans in this level, and I grabbed a seat in a section that was completely empty and offered this spectacular view:
And that’s where I sat for the remainder of the game, enjoying the action from a distance, keeping an eye on the video board to my right and occasionally taking peeks at the sun setting beyond the beautiful Cleveland skyline. And most importantly, just being happy and grateful to be back at a ballpark.
It’d been a long day of travel, so I didn’t linger once the game was over. My seat position meant that I was able to quickly exit via the Right Field District Gate and be back in my car and headed toward my hotel in just a few minutes. I was in bed not long after getting back to the hotel, already looking forward to returning to Progressive Field the next day.
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